


Swordmage Online

by Dreamwind



Series: 24 Hour Fic Challenge [6]
Category: Harry Potter - J. K. Rowling, Sword Art Online
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Fantasy, Alternate Universe - Magic, Alternate Universe - Science Fiction, BAMF Harry Potter, BAMF Kirigaya Kazuto | Kirito, Canon-Typical Violence, Crossover, Crossover Pairings, First Time, Fluff and Angst, M/M, Post-Deathly Hallows AU, Romance, Season/Series 01, Virtual Reality
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-01-14
Updated: 2016-04-04
Packaged: 2018-05-13 21:22:36
Rating: Mature
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 14,060
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5717557
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Dreamwind/pseuds/Dreamwind
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Trapped in a virtual world, could even the Boy-Who-Lived survive? [Chapter 1 has been hugely redone! You'll need to re-read before going to chapters 2 and 3.]</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> **AN:** Well, this was supposed to be a one-shot, but that didn't happen. This will most certainly have more chapters at some point. Also, I completely re-did Chapter 1. The original Chapter 1 has been split between the new Chapter 1 and the new Chapter 3!
> 
> =======

[ ](http://s28.photobucket.com/user/MiyuMoon/media/Wizard%20Online_zps6fnbmvlo.jpg.html)

 

**November 6, 2022; London England**  
  
When his godson first stated that he wanted to play the new MMORPG, Harry had been worried. He understood how amazing the new gaming systems were compared to the ones Dudley used to play when they were younger. But Harry always worried that kids weren’t spending enough time outside, getting fresh air. That wasn’t the only concern though. Teddy was still a little kid and this new game was pretty violent for what he could see. It was all about cutting down monsters with swords. Harry wasn’t sure how he felt about that and he knew Andromeda felt the same. So when she brought her concerns to him he decided that he should buy the system and play it himself first. He would give Andromeda his opinion and then they could go from there.   
  
He was, after all, the cool godparent, even if he still looked like an eighteen year old. It was the least he could do.  
  
More than a hundred yards above, the bottom of the second floor glowed purple. As he looked towards the horizon, the vast tower far in the distance looked dark as the purple color changed into an eery glowing crimson. Something burned in his gut telling Harry that something was going very wrong, very fast. He slashed his hand through the air, pulling up the floating menu screen. Desperately, he looked for the “Log Out” button.  
  
It wasn’t there.  
  
Hissing in a breath between clenched teeth, Harry was enveloped in a pillar of bright blue light.  
  
  
The blue light faded, and he was greeted by wide paving stones, tree lined streets, and an elegant medieval town which made up the Town of Beginnings. The central square was teeming with a massive crowd of fantastically beautiful people dressed in costumes similar to Harry’s own. There had to be several thousand players here, maybe more. All of them looked confused, and for several seconds the overcrowded square was deathly silent. Then as suddenly as they all appeared, their voices raised in a riot of sound and languages, steadily raising in volume before the gaming system seemed to kick in and translate everyone’s voices into one language.  
  
Abruptly, someone screamed, cutting through the noise like a rapier, “Hey…look up!”  
  
Harry looked up to the sky, which in the game, was made up of the hanging second floor. The sky was changing again into a glowing red, checkerboard pattern that reminded Harry of the chessboards in the Gryffindor common room. In the squares writing appeared, in English of all things.   
  
_**WARNING**_  
  
 _ **SYSTEM ANNOUNCEMENT**_  
  
Around him the other players seemed to relax, but Harry felt his tension on rising. Every instinct he had from years of fighting for his life and tracking down Dark Wizards, was screaming at him to retreat. To get HOME now. That they had all misstepped into a trap of epic proportions. No one else seemed to have the same concerns though. They all seemed content to quite down, to complacently wait for rescue from the game by the GMs.   
  
Rescue wasn’t coming. He could feel it in his bones. He could see it in the eerie numbers that hovered over each persons heart.  
  
The center of the Crimson pattern that covered the entire sky above suddenly sagged in the middle, dripping off the ceiling like an enormous drop of blood. The viscous drop slowly extended downward. Rather than breaking off and falling to the ground to splash at their feet, it abruptly changed shape in midair. What emerged was the form of a person clad in a robe the color of Crimson blood, a deep hood hiding the figure’s face in a shadow of darkness. The robe clad figure was at least 60 feet tall, and it's feet still did not touch the ground. Harry wasn't sure how correct that was though because they were all staring up at the figure from the ground, which should've given them a glimpse underneath that hood. Only there was no face to be seen in the darkness. The underside of the hood and the stitching of the seam was clearly visible. The sleeves were the same. Dangling so long that they hid any sight of the figures hands, leaving only the faint empty darkness in their place.  
  
If the robes had been black, Harry would have said they were the robes of a Death Eater, for the cut and style was eerily similar. But the color was Red rather than black and the game had been designed by a Muggle who couldn’t have known about the Death Eaters and their miserable fashion sense.   
  
Around him mutters of confusion and hope rose in waves.  
  
As if to silent the crowd the right arm of enormous robe suddenly shifted. A white glove peeked out of the pendulous sleeve, but once again there was a stark separation between the robe and the glove with no flesh to be seen connecting them. The other arm lifted making the white gloved hand becoming visible. The empty white gloves spread apart, looming over 10,000 heads. In the dark shadows of the hood, a mouth that did not exist opened and a deep voice came forth, silencing them all.  
  
“Welcome to my world, dear players.” The crowd shuffled nervously staring up at the figure that was watching over them. “My name is Akihiko Kayaba. As of this moment, I am the only human being alive with control over this world.”  
  
The crowd began to scream and weep in parts, in other clusters voices rose in confused mutterings, or stilled in stunned silence.  
  
“You have likely noticed by now the the log-out button has disappeared from the main menu. This is not a bug. I repeat, this is not a bug. It is a feature of Sword Art Online. From this point onward you will be unable to freely log-out of the game until the summit of this castle is conquered. Furthermore, the NerveGear cannot be removed or shutdown via external means. If forceful means of exit are attempted,” the voice paused, filling the air with a heavy, damming silence. The next words came with a slow, awful finality, “the high-powered microwaves admitted by the NerveGear will scramble your brain and shut down your vital processes.”  
  
Harry was glad he had told Andromeda not to let Teddy play the game without one of them trying it first. Around him the crowd panicked and Harry felt his world change forever.   
  
  
=== HP/SAO ===  
  
  
 **December 1, 2022; Floor 1 Amphitheater**  
  
Harry strolled down the path leading to the amphitheater. It was a lovely street, a master piece of digital scenery. The ground was similar to cobble stones, but not nearly as bumpy to walk over, and the sides of the road was line with trees. The trees were still covered in leaves, though the leaves had long since turned into red, oranges, and golds, rather than the healthy green of spring. Still, there was something pleasing in the sight of them.   
  
At the end of the road was the amphitheater that he was going to. He knew why he was going there, but he wondered how much help could actually be. He wondered if he should even go. Going there, standing amidst all the other players, would be hard. But his Gryffindor side wouldn’t let him skip out on it. If others were willing to fight, willing to risk dying, he could hardly do less. He wanted out of the game. He wanted to see his friends again. To see his godson again. Waiting for others to defeat the 100 bosses, could take years. He didn’t have years. Teddy was so young and if he was stuck in here too long he would come to in the real world to find that his godson didn’t know him anymore. He had promised Remus and Tonks that he would be there for Teddy, and he was determined to keep his word.  
  
The amphitheater at the end of the lane was suddenly in front of him. Rather than rising up into the sky, the amphitheater sunk into the ground. The only sign of it’s presence in front of him being the tall Ionic marble columns stretched out at the end of the path. Taking a deep breath Harry marched forward between the columns, looking down on the stone amphitheater below. It looked like an ancient Greek amphitheater, though it appeared to be made out of golden limestone, rather than the same marble of the columns above. It was oval shaped with a dozen rows of long stone bench style seating carved into the amphitheater itself. At the bottom of the rows was a flat surface of the same stone. Across from the seating was a tall wall, which Harry knew was meant to hide the cast and stage hands from the audience between scenes of a play.   
  
Harry looked around him, counting out the people already there. Some were seated in groups, others on their own. But all of them had the same determined set to their shoulders. Harry winced as he caught sight of a few with numbers hanging over their heads that indicated a not so good future for them. The player down at the bottom of the amphitheater, his blue hair lit up in the sun, was one of these players. The fact that the man trying to organize the boss raid party was one of those with an approaching date made Harry wince and think about turning around and leaving.   
  
But his desire to get off of Floor 1, and to get out of the game, was stronger.  
  
Glancing about once more he walked into the amphitheater and took a seat near a young man dressed all in black. Harry watched him out of the corner of his eye. The young man’s countdown clock, as Harry had begun to think of them, showed a long life stretching out before the black-hair player. Inching slightly closer he took a good long look at the young man. He was very obviously of Japanese decent, but whether he was a play form Japan or elsewhere Harry couldn’t know for certain. It was most likely that he was from Japan as that was where 90% of the players trapped in SAO were from.   
  
He was handsome too.   
  
Harry blushed and glanced away before the other could catch him staring at him. He looked younger than Harry, perhaps not even eighteen yet. It made Harry feel a little dirty, looking him over as he had been, but at the same time not. He could be older than he looked after all. Harry himself was already twenty-three and he still looked the same as he did on the day he killed Voldemort. Of course Harry was wizard and wizards aged very slowly in comparison to humans. They could live twice as long, easily, as a normal human.   
  
Harry pondered that for a while as he waited for the meeting to begin. He wondered for a moment if the young man was a wizard too, or just another Muggle.   
  
A loud whistle pierced his thoughts, drawing his attention to the blue-haired player down at the bottom of the amphitheater.  
  
“Thank you all for heeding my call today,” he said in a loud, carrying voice. “You are the best and the brightest players in SAO.”  
  
Harry snorted at the flowery comment. While many of the players here likely were very skilled, he doubted that most of them were what could be considered the best. Sure he recognized a few as normal front line players, the tall axe-wielding black man was the most recognizable. There weren’t many players of African decent in the game.   
  
“My name’s Diavel,” the blue haired man said. “And I like to think of myself as playing a “knight!”  
  
Harry scoffed out loud, the sound hidden from everyone but the black dressed player next to him as someone else in the crowd called out, “I bet you wanted to say you’re playing a ‘hero’!”  
  
The crowd laughed lightly at the joke, and Diavel waited for them to quite before continuing on. “Now you’re all top players in the game active around the front line of our progress and i hardly need to remind you of why we’re here. Today, our party discovered the first floor boss chamber!”  
  
The crowd erupted again, this time with excitement. Adrenaline pulsed through Harry’s veins and he leaned forward involuntarily. The boss! They were one step closer to getting out of here. One dangerous, potentially deadly step.  
  
“The time has come to beat the boss and reach the second floor! It took an entire month, but now we have the chance to show everyone that someday we can beat this game of death. That’s the duty of all the top level players here!”  
  
“Hang on just a sec, sir knight,” called a short, angry looking player with unusually spiky hair. “I gotta get this offa my chest before we can start playin’ like we’re all pals.”  
  
He stormed down the steps to where Diavel, a very attractive looking fellow in comparison, stood watching him.   
  
“What’s on your mind, friend,” asked Diavel. “Positive opinions are always welcome. However, I’d ask you to introduce yourself first.”  
  
“Hmph,” spiky hair grunted. “The name’s Kibaou.”  
  
He spun about sharply to face the crowd of onlookers. With a voice full of misplaced anger, he screamed, “C’mon, you cowardly beta testers! Show yourselves!!! I know there’s five or ten of ‘em here!” He spun around, glaring at everyone. “Come out an’ name yourselves!! You owe an apology to the two thousand people who already died because you were too busy hoggin’ everything to yourselves Now get down on hands and knees ta apologize and donate your stockpile o’ col and items!”  
  
The crowed murmured in parts agreement, and in parts disagreement, and dismay. Harry felt his blood boil and surged to his feet green eyes flashing with power and rage. Before he could storm down the steps and scold the player like he would a child throwing a temper tantrum, the tall black man came up from behind the other player, his shadow covering the rowdy man like a shadow of death.  
  
“May I speak,” the black man said in a calm, collected voice. “My name’s Agil,” he said to the crowd.   
  
“Kibaou-san, if I have this right,” he said to the short-angry player. “You’re claiming that many newbies died because the former testers didn’t help them so they ought to pay reparations? Is that correct?”  
  
“Y…yeah,” he stuttered. “They abandoned all the new players who didn’t know left from right on the day this damn game started…an’ hightailed it right outta the town of beginnings to pursue their own selfish ends. You know anyone around you that fits the bill?” Gaining a little confidence from not being interrupted or immediately shut down, Kiabou continued on. “When them beta assholes hogged all the best huntin’ grounds and lucrative quests…they kept the beginners from good leveling spots so that they had ta venture into dangerous zones and wound up dead.”  
  
Harry smirked and slowly lowered back down to his seat, noticing that the black swordsman beside him was watching him. Harry smiled at him. “There are always a few,” Harry said lightly to him. “People who can’t accept that things are out of their control. People who want to blame someone else, someone easy to blame, for all the troubles in the world.”  
  
Harry glared down at Kibaou even as Agil kept on lettering him, and the others listening. “The deaths of those two thousand people don’t belong on the heads of the beta testers. They belong solely on Akihiko Kayaba.”  
  
“Every time I reached a new town, the guidebook was available at item shops,” Agil said. “And for free too. I’d say everyone has made use of them, right?”  
  
“It was very helpful,” a hooded figure to their left whispered in a soft, feminine voice.   
  
“But it felt to me like it was all too quick. I suspect that the only people who could have offered this information and map data are the former beta testers who have already been well past anything we’ve seen so far.” Gail turned to face the crowd, still holding up the SAO Strategy Guide. “Listen, the information was out there. There’s no better gift you could give a group of beginners. Yes, many people died. But that was because they assumed SAO worked the same way as other MMOs, and failed to pull back when they needed to.”  
  
A line of sweat began to drip down Kibaou’s face as he clenched his jaw, grinding his teeth.  
  
“Meanwhile,” Agil continued. “We’ve got the information from the Guide and we’re still alive.”  
  
Harry smiled and scooted closer to the black-clad youth. “Kibou’s met his match.”  
  
“Seems that way,” the other boy said.  
  
“Kibaou is the kind of player who is never happy. Not unless he’s the best, not unless he has the most, not unless he can build his own happiness on the misfortune and grief of others. He is here because he wants to be important. He wants to be the hero. The knight that Diavel claimed to be.” Harry snorted, causing the cloaked girl to look towards him. “A real knight does not speak ill of others. A knight does not spread news that he does not know to be certain, or condemn things that he does not understand. Every knight holds human equality as an unwavering truth. A knight is never present when men or women are being degraded or compromised in any way, because if a knight were present, those committing the hurtful acts or words would be made to stop.”  
  
The black swordsman looked back on the scene below. A smile twitched the corners of his lips. “Agil’s the real knight here.”  
  
“Agreed,” Harry and the girl said on the same breath.  
  
“You know a lot about knights,” inquired the young man.  
  
Harry laughed softly. “Well, I suppose I should. I’m British after all.”  
  
“Oh,” the girl said in surprise.   
  
Harry smiled again at the two. The three of them jolted and looked back at the goings on below as a commotion broke out. The others had rushed the stage, crowding around Diavel and Agil. A loud sursurus broke out as people started reading out commentary from an apparently new Guide book specific to the boss they were planning to face.   
  
“What,” screamed Kibaou. “Now wait just a damn second!”  
  
Harry cursed the man, wishing he could risk casting a spell while trapped in the dangerous Muggle tech. He really was sick and tired of the whiny little rat of a man.  
  
“Lookit this here,” he said, practically yanking the Guide out of Dial’s hand. “I knew it! The informant knows who’s a beta tester! In fact,” he growled. “Are we really gonna trust intel from beta testers? They could be leaving out the most important info just to screw us over!”  
  
Harry jumped to his feet, storming down to the crowd below.  
  
“If this came from the beta testers maybe they should stand at the front of the battle-“  
  
“Shut up, all of you,” screamed Harry over the crowd, silencing them with the unequivocal sound of command in his voice. He strode forward, the crowd parting before him like the Red Sea parting for Moses. “I have heard enough of his bloody crap! The beta testers are as trapped in here as any of the rest of us. They want to get out and back to their lives as much as any of us do and you are here scorning every attempt they are giving you, and everyone else, to make it out of this game alive? I cannot believe you!”  
  
Harry glared out at the crowd, spine straight, eyes glowing with suppressed rage. “You have no right to be angry at them! If you were a beta tester,” he said glaring at Kibaou. “I have no doubt you would have rushed out of the town that day as well to level up as quickly as you could. And I doubt you would be as kind as they have been and shared your knowledge and experience at no profit to you. No, what everyone here needs to be is grateful. They are giving us a chance! A chance to make it out of the upcoming fight with as many of us alive as possible.”  
  
“Indeed,” Agil agreed. “The information is going to save usual the reconnaissance missions. We might even be able to win without any fatalities.”  
  
Kibaou glared at Harry. “How do we even know you aren’t a beta tester? We don’t even know your name!”  
  
Harry rolled his eyes. “My name is Galahad. And if you didn’t catch the accent, well, I’m from England. So obviously I could not be a beta tester.”  
  
Kibaou scowled. “You could be living in Japan!”  
  
“I’m not. Not that, that would change what you think.” Harry glared until Kibaou hunched in on himself and nervously looked around. “Each one of us is walking our own road in life and in SAO. We are born at specific times, in specific places, and our challenges are unique. AS knights,” Harry rolled his eyes. “Understanding and respecting our distinctiveness is vital to our ability to harness our collective strength. In this game the use of force may be necessary to protect ourselves and others, but only justice, fairness, and cooperation can truly allow us to succeed in defeating this boss, and the ninety-nine others ahead of us. We must work together as brothers and sisters, or perish together as fools!”  
  
The crowd around him cheered, lightly pushing at Kibaou as he grumbled more complaints.  
  
“Galahad is right! And if his words aren’t enough for you,” Diavel smacked his fist into his armored chest. “Then I’ll take to upon myself to protect the group. If there is any fault in the information, then I will continue the fight. On my pride as a knight I swear this to you!”  
  
The crowd cheered again, louder this time.  
  
As the cheers began to die down, Diavel turned to look towards the black knight and the cloaked girl standing behind Galahad. “It seems fitting, after all. Given that we have a Princess.”  
  
The girl jolted under her cloak. Harry wondered if she was embarrassed about being singled out, or angry that her gender was being use against her. Even if it wasn’t meant in a mean way. He knew that if it had been Ginny or Hermione under the cloak they would have torn it off and ripped into Diavel until he was a cowering, crying mess.  
  
Harry’s smile vanished. It hadn’t been that long since they had gotten trapped and thinking about any of his friends and former classmates, made him sad. He let out a long breath and looked back up, surprised to find that both the girl and the black clothed young man were watching him.   
  
“It looks like the three of us don’t have anyone to team up with,” the young man commented, looking between Harry and the girl. “Why don’t the three of us team up?”  
  
“Sure,” Harry said.  
  
“No thanks,” she said at the same time.  
  
“You know we ain’t join the raid unless we’re in a party,” the young man told the girl.  
  
She blinked, blushed, and looked away from them. “I might consider it…if you send me an invite.”  
  
“Really,” he said, surprised. “Okay.”  
  
The young man pulled up his menu with a swipe of his hand. A screen blinked to life in front of Harry and the young lady. Considering she hadn’t said her name yet, Harry guessed the two might have met before. Looking at the request, Harry quickly reached out and tapped the ‘Accept’ button. The screen chimed once then blinked away. A new screen appeared welcoming him to the party with Kirito and Asuna.  
  
“In exchange,” Asuna said to Kirito. “You were saying something before we got here. I couldn’t hear it through the wind. If we both survive the battle…tell me again.”  
  
Harry raised an eyebrow at the two of them. Asuna caught the look and blushed a bright scarlet.   
  
  
=== HP/SAO ===  
  
  
 **Two Days Later, Floor 1: Forest Field**  
  
Galahad met Kirito at his Inn. Kirito almost walked into a wall when he saw him, because he hadn’t recognized the other player. Galahad was dressed differently than he had been two days prior. Hell, he was dressed differently than he had been yesterday when they all practiced together!  
  
The basic gear he had been dressed in had been replaced by nicer clothes and armor. Now he was dressed in a long green tunic with gold and black designs along the edges of the neck and hem. His pants looked to be black leather and over top of them he had a long skirt like piece of clothing that was open at the front and held in place by a green belt with a gold clasp. His chest was covered by a silver breastplate, over which the black strap of his swords sheath was attached. He grinned at Kirito and when their eyes met he gave Kirito a saucy wink, which made Kirito blush.  
  
“Ready to head out? Asuna and the rest of the team should be waiting for us.”  
  
“Y-yeah,” stammered Kirito.   
  
They exited the town, quickly catching up to Asuna and the rest of the party who were already walking down the forest path to the dungeon. The fencer glanced at the two of them, doing a double take as she caught sight of Galahad, who merely waved in an amused manner.  
  
The three of them walked at the back of the group and for several minutes the journey was silent. Harry rather enjoyed the lush green forest and the sunny sky that they found themselves in. It was different from the fall like atmosphere near the cities. Here he could almost imagine he was back at Hogwarts. What Asuna was thinking he couldn’t guess, though if anything he was pleased by how calm she was. As the only girl in the party it had to be a bit daunting to be trying to take down a boss. He didn’t get the feeling that she had ever played games like this before. Which made her being here all the more impressive in his book. Though he did wish she wasn’t so shy.  
  
Kirito coughed, drawing their attention to him. “As the leftover team, our target is going to be the Ruin Kobold Sentinels. The boss’ entourage.”  
  
“I know,” ASuna said in a soft voice.  
  
“I’ll use sword skills to knock their poleaxes up and out of the way. The second I do either you or Galahad should switch and jump in.”  
  
“Switch,” asked Asuna.  
  
Kirito stumbled and swiftly turned to look at the girl. “Level with me. Is this the first time you’ve been in a party?”  
  
Asuna nodded and Harry realized Kirito was cursing in his head at that moment. Having someone who had never fought as part of a team before was going to be more of a hinderance than a help. Galahad interrupted and calmly went about explaining what their job was going to be and how they were going to achieve it as Kirito tried to collect himself. Asuna nodded, listening intently. The determined look on her face made Harry give her a sad smile. At the moment she reminded him so much of Hermione.  
  
Eventually the first came to an end and the whole group made their way into the dungeon, past the all the low level minions. Finally they reached the end. Before them were the heavy metal doors that signified they had found the Boss Room. Diavel stopped them all, and Harry realized he was going to give them another speech. Harry was honestly a little tired of speech’s. Diavel had been giving them a lot to the party over the last two days of training. There wasn’t anything wrong with it, it was good for moral. It was just that he had been the leader of a battle before. He had already fought and died before. The thought that he might die on the other side of those doors was more of an irritant than any actual fear. He was used to living in fear that at any moment he would die. Five years of piece wasn’t long compared to the 18 years of hell that came before it.  
  
“-Let’s win,” Diavel cried out, fist raised.  
  
The crowd rippled with a somber sound. They knew that what they were about to face was dangerous. That at least one of them would likely die, but they had all accepted that they had to do this. That the only way out of this nightmare was to face their fears, and the monster hidden on the other side of the door.  
  
Diavel spun about and placed his hand on the door, slowly pushing it open. “Let’s go!”  
  
The room on the other side was dark. From where they stood Kirito and the others could barely make out the elaborate pattern on the stone floor, and the ghostly shapes of pillars stretching out into the darkness. As Diavel stepped into the room a pair of glowing red eyes lit up in the darkness at the end of the room.   
  
Their blue-hair leader didn’t hesitate as he led the party deeper into the room. As the last of them stepped over the threshold, the room burst into light, the darkness vanishing. With an animalistic growl the huge red figure at the end of the room leapt from it’s thrown, high into the air. With a deafening crash it dropped to the floor, knocking a couple of players to their knees as the floor trembled from the impact. Kirito cursed the cloud of dusty smoke that rose into the air from the impact, blocking sight of the boss momentarily. Fortunately it did not attack right away.   
  
It let out a loud howl, throwing it’s head back and exposing it’s chest to the party.  
  
Kirito glanced at his party, noticing Galahad checking out the Boss, his face a mask of calm detachment. Their was no fear in the stunning emerald eyes as it looked at Illfang the Kobold Lord. If anything he seemed slightly disappointed by the boss monster, which only confused Kirito.   
  
Three towers of light surged up from the floor infant of Illfang, resolving into three smaller kobolds dressed in medieval armor and carrying maxes. The minions had barely formed before they charged forwards at the group of players, Illfang right behind them.  
  
Diavel slashed his sword in an arch toward the approaching monsters, yelling out his orders. “Commence attack!”  
  
With a yell the main group of players charged forwards.   
  
“Squads A and C! Switch,” ordered Diavel. “Here it comes! Squad B, block!”  
  
Ill fang let out a roar, swinging it’s weapon down at the cluster of players still battling his minions. Gail and Kibaou jumped forwards, setting into the boss with some of their strongest attacks, their weapons glowing brightly with their determination.   
  
“Squad C, keep guarding and prepare to switch,” Diavel called from the back. “Everyone else…As you fall back, prepare to attack from the sides! Squads D, E, and F, keep the sentinels off us!”  
  
“You got it,” Kirito called back, blade already drawn and ready for the attack. The loud clanging of metal on metal filled the room as players charged forward attacking minions and boss alike. Kirito, Asuna, and Galahad moved as a single unit. They switched in and out with surprising ease considering the limited time they had to prepare for the battle, especially as Asuna seemed to want as little to do with them outside of the actual fight, as possible.   
  
Kirito was surprised by how good Asuna’s dexterity and skill level was. The young woman was attacking so fast that he couldn’t even see the tip of her sword! One minions burst apart beneath her sword in a shower of rainbow shards. It’s comrade screech and left at Asuna, only to be taken out in a single sword stroke by Galahad, who had seemingly come out of nowhere. Appearing as if by magic, at Asuna’s back just in time. The third minion launched itself at Kirito, blocking his attack and leaping backwards, forcing Kirito to chase it.   
  
The angry roar of the boss behind him, distracted Kirito, drawing his gaze to it. Of the three HP bars, the monster appear to be down to the final half of it’s points in the final bar, the normal color of the HP bar already glowing a bloody red. With a sudden cry the kobold lord flung away his shield and axe, startling the party into freezing.   
  
Kibaou grinned at the sight. “Looks like the guidebook was right after all.”  
  
“Stand back,” called Diavel from behind.   
  
The other players turned to look at their leader, and Kirito noticed that Galahad had a far more serious look on his face as he watched the other man. Something was off and Galahad seemed to be picking up on whatever it was.   
  
“I’ve got it,” Diavel called out as he charged forward, past the other players who gave him confused looks.  
  
Kirito snarled, swinging his sword at the minor again and trying to move forward. This wasn’t part of the plan! ‘I thought the plan was to surround it with the entire group?’  
  
As he caught Diavel’s eye, he noticed the sad, almost apologetic look in the blue-haired knights eyes. Kirito’s eyes widened as he realized what was about to happen. Diavel wasn’t trying to steal the HP from killing the monster, he was trying to save the party! Diavel must have noticed something off in the boss’ attack!  
  
With a snarling smirk Illfang reached behind it’s back and pulled out a long bladed weapon. A weapon it hadn’t used in the beta test! Diavel stood his ground, his sword glowing, ready for the attack.  
  
’That’s not a Talwar! It’s a No-Dachi!’ Kirito cursed out loud, slashing at the minion in front of him before turning towards Diavel. “Wait! Stop,” he cried out. Kibaou turned at the sound of his voice, but the others remained still, watching Diavel charge forward in what was turning out to be a Kamikaze attack.   
  
“Get out of there,” Kirito screamed.  
  
Ill fang leapt into the air again as Diavel continued to charge forward. It ricocheted off the pillars several times before flinging it’s body down at Diavel, head and No-Dachi first. Diavel screamed as the No-Dachi sliced through his side and the rest of the party let out shocked cries of horror. As Illfang swung at their leader a second time, a green and black blur intercepted the attack, forcing the No-Dachi to the side, where it slammed into the ground, cleaving through the floor, sending up a cloud of debris and dust. Illfang roared his displeasure as his attacked was blocked. Kirito ran forward, toward the slowly clearing cloud, calling out “Diavel!”  
  
As the cloud finally disappointed the party were shocked to see their leader injured but alive, the green and black glad bishonen standing over him protectively. Kirito skidded to a halt next to Diavel and Galahad, already pulling out a healing potion as he came to a stop. “What were you thinking,” he demanded.  
  
he yanked on the top of the potion, pulling off the top and moving to give it to Diavel. The blue-hair man looked up at him, pushing Kirito’s hand, and the potion away. “You know,” he whispered. “You were a beta tester too? Weren’t you.”  
  
Behind them a few of the party caught the softly spoken words, sending a ripple of shock through the crowd. Kirito gasped. He had suspected that Diavel might be a beta tester, but he hadn’t been sure. He wasn’t sure if he should be annoyed, angry, or impressed.  
  
“You were after the rare item from the last attack bonus,” he said in a quit voice. “You’re just like me. A beta tester.”  
  
Diavel gave him a sad grin and went to answer, but his words were drowned out by the roar of Illfang and the clang of swords meeting. Around them the battle started again, and Kirito tried again to get Diavel to drink. And again the man pushed his hand away.  
  
“Just shove the potion down his throat, Kirito,” yelled Galahad. “We don’t have time for martyrs!”  
  
Kibaou yelled something derogatory at the Brit, who ignore him and called out attack orders for the rest of the party, telling Asuna and Kirito to drag the wounded out of the way and feed them any healing potions they could spar. Kirito looked back at Galahad in awe. The noob was leading the fight like a seasoned general, commanding voice brooking no argument from anyone, the black of his half skirt swishing around him dramatically as he continued his assault on the boss.   
  
Asuna yanked Diavel’s head back by the hair, causing the man to shout in surprised pain.   
  
“Well,” she demanded. “Feed the potion to him like Galahad said! We can’t let him doe!”  
  
“Y-yeah,” Kirito stuttered, following the order and force-feeding the potion to his fellow beta tester. All the while a part of him was trembling in shock. Since the beginning of the game, all he had thought about was his own survival. Nothing else mattered. But Diavel… Diavel wasn’t like that. Even though he was a beta tester, he never abandoned the other players. Instead, he had brought them together. As Diavel stalled the potion reluctantly, Kirito stood up, turning to face Illfang with a greater determination, with greater understanding. Asuna slid into place beside him as he clench his hand on the hilt of his sword.  
  
“I’ll go too,” she said with conviction.  
  
“Thanks.”  
  
The two surged forward calling out to Galahad. “We’ll hit him just like we did the minions!”  
  
“Got it,” Asuna and Galahad called out together.   
  
Illfang turned away from the other players, focusing on the three running towards it. He gripped his No-Dachi, the blade glowing a fierce white as it’s attack started. One after the other Kirito, Asuna, and Galahad switched out. Blocking and striking in rapid fire attacks that left the boss monster off balance. Asuna’s cloak was torn away, revealing her to be a strikingly pretty young woman. But Kirito and the rest of the party were too busy attacking and helping the injured to notice. Suddenly the monster lucked out, his blade hitting Kirito, knocking him backwards into Asuna. The two went tumbling across the floor and Asuna gasped as she struggled up, catching sight of Kirito HP bar dropping into the remaining third of his life points.   
  
A shadow appear over them and she gasped as Illfang swung his No-Dachi up into the air above them, preparing to attack. It glowed an eery red and she was certain she was about too die.  
  
Two voices cried out from behind and she looked up just in time to see Agil block the attack, and Galahad to launch his own. Ill fang cried out in pain as the handsome Brit sank his sword into the monsters flesh, with a determined snarl. The rest of the players surged forwards behind them, leaving Asuna shocked and amazed.  
  
“We can hold him off until you two recover,” Agil told her.   
  
“You got it,” Kirito said as he pushed himself up.  He looked towards the battle, and his newest ally, who was fighting with an amazing speech and flexibility. Galahad seemed to have utterly no fear as Illfang left into the air once more, his weapon glowing as it swung back down towards the British swordsman.  
  
“Watch out,” Kirito screamed, launching himself forward to where Agil and two other players were on the ground defenseless, right in the path of Illfang’s attack on Galahad.   
  
Galahad roared, his sword moving lightning fast, slicing once, twice, three times before he propelled himself into a backflip off Illfang’s rotund belly, making a clear path for Kirito to launch his own attack. He screamed out slicing through the monster in a upwards cut sure of his own safety with Galahad there blocking the monsters No-Dachi in time for Kirito to cleave his sword through the boss once more.   
  
A blast of light blinded them as the boss disintegrated in a shower of rainbow shards. For a moment the room was still and silent, as it sunk in that they had won. They had beaten the first floor boss!  
  
 _ **CONGRATULATIONS**_  
  
The crowd burst out in riotous cheers of the delight as the banner flashed before them signally the completion of the battle. Kirito sank to his knees, gasping for breath while around him the other party members were hugging each other and dancing about like fools. Galahad stood at his back watching over the crowd as a pop-up window appeared infant of Kirito signaling that he had won the Last Attack Bonus. The Coat of Midnight! This was what Diavel had been after in the battle. Other than getting to the second floor. For a moment he didn’t want to take it. He hadn’t fought just to win the item, he had been fighting to get out of this world. To get back home.  
  
“You did good, Kirito.”  
  
Kirito looked up at Galahad who was smiling down at him in pride. The look made Kirito blink for a moment. It wasn’t often in recent years that anyone looked at him in pride. It filled his belly with a fluttery sensation he couldn’t place.  
  
“You should accept the bonus. If you don’t want it you can always sell it to Diavel.” Galahad’s lips twitched up in a smirk and he turned to look over at the blue haired man who was watched them with an awed look on his face. “I think you might just have a fanboy.”  
  
Kirito groaned but accepted the bonus item, watching Asuna help the still amazed looking Diavel to his feet. Kibaou was already running over towards them, a happy look on his face at the sight of their party leader still among the living. Nearby Agil was getting to his feet, dusting off his behind with a pat of his large hands. The older man caught him looking and gave Kirito and Galahad a wide smile.   
  
“That was some fine swordsmanship,” he said as he walked over to them. “Congratualtions. Today’s victory is all thanks to you two.”  
  
“No,” Kirito said with a shake of his head.   
  
“You guys rock!”  
  
“Way to go, Kirito!”  
  
“Galahad is the man!”  
  
The shouts of appreciation filled the room, making Kirito want to hide behind Galahad. So many people praising him was a bit disconcerting. Surely someone would blame him for something? No one could possibly this happy to have the victory taken by one of the loners? He swallowed thickly waiting for someone, Kibaou most likely, to start blaming him for Diavel nearly dying. Surely one of them would notice that he had called out to Diavel, warning him to back off just before Illfang hit him?  
  
But the crowd was silent of fear, betrayal, or anger. The room was filled with back slapping good wishes. He gave a tentative smile at the crowd noticing the suspicious gaze that Kibaou was giving him until Diavel set his hand on the shorter player’s shoulder, distracting him. Whatever Diavel said to him seemed to calm him down though, and the moment passed.  
  
“Smile and accept the praise,” Galahad whisper as he helped Kirito to his feet. “Take it from me, this is a much better reaction than if Diavel had died and one of them found reason to blame a change of coding on you.”  
  
Kirito looked at the other player, surprised at the look in the normally bright green eyes. There was something haunted, something knowing in his eyes as he spoke about how a crowd could turn on you.   
  
Galahad shook the look off, forcing a grin on his face before walking into the crowd thanking them, and telling them that they couldn’t have done it without the rest of them. That defeating the boss was a team effort and all of them had played an important role. He praised them all for fighting, for risking their lives, and for defending each other, making several blush as if they had forgotten that the only girl in the actual party was in fact standing at the other end of the crowd watching them all with an indecipherable look on her face.  
  



	2. Chapter 2

**Christmas 2022, Floor 26**  
  
Kirito sat on a bench watching other players laugh and enjoy the sight of the massive Christmas Tree in the center of the town, the lights decorating the square and surrounding buildings, and all the special items being sold at a limited holiday rate. He couldn’t enjoy it though, not with the guilt weighing him down. If he had only told the Moonlight Black Cats the truth. If only he had made sure they were better prepared. Maybe they would be here laughing and enjoying the holiday with him. But they weren’t here. They were dead because of him.  
  
Because he had wanted, for just a moment, to feel like he had friends again.  
  
“Get that sad look off your face, Kirito,” came a familiar voice from behind him. “Christmas is a time for good cheer.”  
  
Kirito refused to watch as Galahad came around the bench to sit beside him. Out of the corner of his eye he could see that Galahad had change armor again, just as Kirito had since last he saw him. He looked dressed for winter. Kirito could make out what appeared to be a men’s kimono in green with red and gold accents, hidden under a hooded, white suede jacket that stretched all the way to Galahad’s feet, and seemed to be lined with black tipped ermine fur. The jacket was a masterpiece of work, obviously custom made at no small expense. It look incredibly warm and comfortable, not to mention making Galahad seem even more attractive and unattainable than ever.  
  
“I’m not feeling very cheerful,” he whispered.  
  
Galahad hummed softly and leaned back, looking up at the lights stretching out above them from one building to the next in a pattern that formed a great big star. “I’m told I’m a good listener if you want to talk.”  
  
“No thanks.”  
  
A moment of silence stretched between them before Galahad’s gentle voice came back to him. “You can’t blame yourself for their death, Kirito.”  
  
He flinched, turning to look at the slightly older man. Galahad had those serious eyes again, the ones that said he had seen more than anyone else. Things more terrifying than the potential that he might die in this virtual world. Kirito wanted to scream that Galahad didn’t know what he was talking about, but the look in those eyes said that Galahad did know. That he had suffered the loss of others and blamed himself.  
  
Kirito looked away, clenching his fists around his newest black jacket.  
  
“There’s a special event boss, ‘Nicholas the Renegade,’ who is supposed to appear tonight under a fir tree somewhere. The leading guilds are searching everywhere for it. Running about like chickens with their heads cut off.” Galahad stood up. “I think you should join me in the search for this boss.”  
  
“Why? No one can come back to life here.”  
  
Galahad hummed again, as if he knew something that Kirito didn’t. “And yet there is a rumor that says if you beat Nicholas the Renegade he will drop an item that can revive a dead player.”  
  
Kirito swallowed thickly, hands shaking. “I can do it alone.”  
  
“You can. But it’s always better to have a friend on hand.”  
  
Kirito stood up and walked off, knowing that Galahad would follow even if Kirito didn’t want him to. He called up his menu as he walked, replacing his normal coat with the longer black winter coat, and placing his sword over his shoulder.   
  
Galahad smiled at him, that fake joyous smile that Kirito had once thought was real, but now knew better. The manic twinkling in those green eyes and the warm smile were just a mask for a man as lonely and desperate to get home as Kirito was. Kirito used a cold facade in place of the happy smile that Galahad did, but neither seemed to be working for them. They kept finding themselves in situations where people praised them for their skill and asked for their friendship, when a part of them both wanted simply to be alone.  
  
“Fine,” he said to the night air.  
  
Galahad chuckled. “We’ll win and you can have the item.”  
  
Kirito looked at the green eyed beauty as they ran through the thick snow. “You don’t have anyone you want to bring back?”  
  
Galahad gave him another of those all too knowing looks. “Death isn’t as final as you think.”  
  
For a weird moment Kirito had the strangest thought that Galahad knew from experience. That the other man might have died. But that was silly.  
  
A flash of light off to the side drew them to a stop as a party of six players appeared to their right. Kirito blinked, his guard dropping slightly at the familiar sight of Klein in his samurai-like armor.   
  
“What’s up,” Klein called out.  
  
“You followed me too,” Kirito stated in a monotone voice.  
  
“Of course,” Klein said, shuffling his feet in the snow. “You’re after the revival item, aren’t ya?”  
  
“Yeah,” replied Kirito.  
  
Klein sighed dramatically. “Don’t be risking your life over what might be a bogus rumor. You can’t be messing around! This game is for real! Once your HP hits zero, that’s it. In the real world-“  
  
“Shut up,” Kirito said, cutting him off.   
  
“I’m trying to get you to stop with all your stupid soloing,” Klein yelled, obviously upset over the possible loss of Kirito’s life.   
  
“I’m not soloing right now, am I,” he said waving a hand in Galahad’s direction.  
  
Galahad smiled and winked at Klein, making a couple of his party sigh in delight and look momentarily as if they would fall over in a faint. “Hello again, Mr. Samurai.”  
  
Klein blushed and Kirito wondered what exactly had happened when these two had first met that would cause Klein to blush quite that red.   
  
“Why are you helping him with this,” Klein demanded.  
  
“Because it’s better than sitting back and doing nothing while he goes off on his own anyway.” Galahad shrugged. “I’ll protect him form his own foolish guilt.”  
  
“You could die to,” Klein thinned, pulling at his hair. “What is wrong with you two!”  
  
“All of you seem so troubled by death, as if it won’t come for us all eventually.”  
  
The other players turned to look at Galahad, in shock. The playfully flirtatious look on the bishonen’s face had been replaced by an all too-knowing, all too-calm look. Like Kirito, Klein found himself wondering just what the foreigner knew about death in the game that they didn’t. Wanting to cut the conversation off before they got too sidetracked Klein started talking to Kirito again, “Just join us. Whoever gets it to drop the revival item keeps it, no hard feelings. That’s fair. Isn’t it?”  
  
Kirito turned away, looking back into the dark snow covered forest. “Then there’d be no point.” He reached up, hand gripping the hilt of his sword. “I have to do this myself.”  
  
“But Galahad’s with you,” thinned Klein.  
  
Galahad smiled again. “I told him he could keep the item even if i got it to drop.”  
  
The other players gave the pretty foreigner shocked looks, as if they couldn’t imagine why he would simply give the item up, despite the fact they agreed to do almost the same thing. Before Klein could protest any further dozen of lights filled the clearing as a larger party of front liners appeared in the clearing.  
  
“I guess you were being followed too, Klein.”  
  
Klein and his party jumped back, forming a present shaped defense with Kirito and Galahad against the Holy dragon Alliance. “It looks that way, doesn’t it,” Klein responded sarcastically.  
  
“Damn,” one of his friends muttered.   
  
“They’ll do anything, no matter how risky, for a rare item,” another said.  
  
“What do we do,” they asked Klein.  
  
“You bastards,” Kirito cursed the grinning soldiers.   
  
Klein sharpened up his stance, calling over his shoulder to Kirito and Galahad, “Get out of here! We’ll hold them off!”  
  
“No way,” Kirito said, the grief clouding his eyes momentarily forgotten at the sight of so many other players watching Klein and his friends like a snake watched an injured baby bird.   
  
“Leave him to us,” Klein demanded. “We can hold them off! Get going!”  
  
“Kirito,” Galahad said, tugging lightly on his shoulder. “Klein isn’t going to die today. I can promise you that.”  
  
Klein smirked. “I’m glad you’re so sure of my skills, pretty boy!”  
  
Galahad smirked, tugging Kirito into the woods. “Don’t get cocky, Mr. Samurai!”  
  
Galahad and Kirito ran as fast as they could, Galahad seeming to almost float over the snow, his long coat streaming out around him. Behind them they could hear the clash of swords as the fight between Klein’s party and the Holy Dragon Alliance began. But ahead of them was a bright blue-white glow, beckoning them closer.  
  
“We’re almost there,” shouted Galahad as they ran past the last few trees.   
  
Kirito gasped as they slid into the snowy clearing where the massive glowing fir tree was waiting. As they came to a stop before it the crisp sound of a massive ringing bell filled the air. Followed quickly by the higher pitched sound of jingle bells.   
  
“Jump back,” commanded Galahad as they caught sight of Nicholas the Renegade dropping out of the sky.  
  
“Merlin’s frozen tits,” Galahad cursed. “That thing is just plain creepy!”  
  
Quietly, Kirito agreed. The bugged eyed, blue skinned, super-sized Santa was certainly creepy. Nightmare worthy even. But Kirito had no time hesitate. Screaming he charged forward in a berserker like rage.   
  
  
= = = SAO = = = HP = = =   
  
  
**Five Minutes Later**  
  
Klein looked up as Kirito and Galahad walked back in to the clearing where he and his party were resting after the battle with the Holy dragon Alliance. Klein almost wanted to cry as he realized the two were uninjured and clutched in Kirito’s hand was a small blue and gold bobble.   
  
“Kirito! Hey,” he called out happily. His voice trailed off slowly as he caught sight of Galahad shaking his head from behind Kirito. Looking closer he caught sight of the blank stare in Kirito’s eyes, as if he was blind to everything around him. “Kirito,” he asked softly, gently, like you would a wounded animal.  
  
Kirito came to a stop a few feet away, and tossed the item at Klein, who fumbled to grab it. “That’s the revival item.”  
  
Klein pocked the item so that the information window would pop up, his team members  inching closer to look over his shoulder.   
  
“Let’s see,” he mumbled mostly to himself. “Must be administered to the affected player…within ten seconds?” Klein looked up at Kirito in shock, understanding now why Kirito looked so depressed.  
  
“If someone dies in front of you one day…make sure you use it.” With that Kirito turned and walked away.  
  
Klein looked at Galahad who was watching Kirito with an understanding, but grim, look. “I’ll keep an eye on him. Don’t you worry.”  
  
“Kirito,” Klein called out to the retreating figure. “I don’t care how you do it, just stay alive to the end.” Klein looked back at the item in his hand, sobbing softly as the two knights walked back to town.   
  
Galahad smiled over his shoulder at Klein one last time before they vanished from his sight and continued out of the forest onto the path leading back to the towns, and the small inn that Kirito had been living in. The place was clean and warm, but empty. There was no decoration, nothing to make it feel welcoming. Galahad hated it immediately.   
  
“Why are you here,” Kirito whispered as he stumbled towards the desk, dropping heavily into the wooden chair in front of it.  
  
“Because dispute it all, I do think of you as a friend.” Galahad closed the door behind him, opening his menu and selecting his coat and weapons to return to storage. “I do understand Kirito. I’ve watched friends die before my eyes, and not just in SAO.”  
  
Kirito looked up sharply at that. “You have?”  
  
Galahad sat lightly on the edge of the bed, his kimono slipping open just enough to flash Kirito a long strip of pale thigh. “When I was thirteen my school held an international tournament between us and two of our sister schools. It was supposed to be something challenging and fun. But it turned out to be a nightmare.”  
  
Galahad licked his lips and took a steadying breath. “I wasn’t old enough to participate but someone, I didn’t know who then, had put my name in and I was forced to participate even though the other three were already chosen and had four extra years of training that I didn’t have.” Galahad shook his head. “It turned out to be far more dangerous than I could imagine and I nearly lost friends over it. My best friend Ron, got so mad at me thinking I had entered in my own name, but then he didn't know how to apologize after seeing me nearly caught on fire in the first test.”  
  
Kirito gasped. “They set you on fire!”  
  
“Not intentionally, but they knew it was a possibility.”  
  
“Thats…” kirito stuttered to a halt, not sure what to say.   
  
“It only got worse from there. We had to reduce friends from drowning in a freezing cold lake in the Scottish highlands. That was pretty unpleasant.” Galahad shook his head, trying to force away the more painful memories. “But the worst was yet to come. The final challenge was a maze filled with all kinds of traps. Only one of the traps had been rigged and the other chosen contestant from my school, Cedric, and I got there at the same time. We ended up kidnaped from the maze under the watchful gaze of the entire student body, a bloody minister, and all the teachers.”  
  
Kirito went to interrupt again, but Galahad held up a hand, asking him to refrain.  
  
“We were taken to a graveyard miles away from the school where the man who murdered my parents was waiting. He didn’t want Cedric, just me.” Galahad swallowed thickly. “He told his minion to ‘kill the spare’ and before either of us could react, the man had killed Cedric. He died right in front of me.”  
  
“You made it out though,” Kirito said softly.  
  
“By sheer dumb luck.” Galahad. shook his head and looked up at Kirito. “So you can see that I understand what it feels like to blame yourself for someone else death.”  
  
“But it wasn’t your fault,” Kirito cried jumping to his feet, dropping his hands onto Galahad’s shoulders. “That man! It’s his fault not yours!”  
  
Galahad smiled softly and placed his hand over Kirito’s. “Just like the death of your party wan’t your fault either.”  
  
Kirito flinched.  
  
“If anyone is to blame, it Akihito Kayaba. He set this all in motion.”  
  
“But-“  
  
“Did you run them through on your sword,” asked Galahad.  
  
“No,” Kirito replied confused.  
  
“Then you aren’t at fault,” Galahad said flatly.  
  
Kirito sighed, but before he could say anything else a glowing ball appeared in front of him, chiming softly. Startled he tapped it, surprised at the notice that appeared in front of him.  
  
 _ **GIFT BOX:  from SACHI**_  
  
“Sachi,” he whispered sadly. Ignoring Galahad’s presence next to him, Kirito tapped the message box to accept, leaning back as it transformed into a four-sided diamond shape. Tapping the small dot at the top if the front panel he watched in silent amazement as it lit up from within. The dark, almost black shape suddenly glowing a bright teal, with bubbling yellow light inside.   
  
A soft voice began speaking suddenly, causing tears to well up in Kirito’s eyes.  
  
 **“Merry Christmas, Kirito. By the time you hear this ,I’ll probably be dead. How can I explain this…Let’s see. To tell you the truth , I never really wanted to leave the Town of Beginnings. And I knew if I fought with an attitude like that I would end up dying some day. But that’s not anyones fault. That’s something I have to deal with. Kirito, ever since that night you found me you kept telling me I wasn’t going to die. No matter what. But what if I got killed anyway? I knew that if I died, you;’d blame yourself. That’s why…I decided to record this for you. By the way, I know how powerful you really are! Sorry. I sorta peeked when you weren’t looking. I wondered why you weren’t telling the truth about what level player you really were. I wondered why you decided to fight with us. I never figured it out though. You know what, when I found out how strong you were…I don;t know, it made me so happy! I felt relieved. So even if I die, promise me you’ll go on living. Okay, Kirito? Stay alive so that you can see the end of this world and find out why it was created.  Find out why a weakling like me ended up here. Find out the reason you and I met. Please. That’s what I wish. Looks like I still have time…so…Seeing how it’s Christmas and everything, I’ll sing you a song, okay?”**  
  
Kirito sobbed and leaned back into Galahad’s comforting shoulder as the message continued with Sachi softly humming Rudolph the Red Nosed Reindeer.   
  
**“Anyway, Kirito. I’m so gad I met you! And that i could be with you, even for a little while. Thank you. Goodbye.”**  
  
The message diamond glowed brighter for a second before the light vanished and it dropped to the floor by their feet.  
  
Kirito was sobbing louder now, all the grief and pain he had been trying to shut away forced out into the open. Galahad simply wrapped Kirito up in his arms, pulling them both back onto the bed, one hand running gently through Kirito’s hair. He was talking, whispering something in a soothing voice, but Kirito was too far gone in his tears, to make the words out, and eventually he cried himself to sleep in the other man’s arms.


	3. Chapter 3

**April 6 2024; Floor 20**  
  
Kirito often found himself wondering how he could have gone form a solo player to a co-leader of a guild in such a short time. It seemed like it had been a mere three months since the death of Sachi and her guild, and here he was sitting on a pier beside his fellow co-leader, Galahad the Invincible Knight, talking over options to buy the log cabin nearby. Apparently, Galahad had been eying it for a month now, trying to decide if he should buy it, or just get a small flat closer to the font lines or Agil’s shop.  
  
This protective house shopping and guild leadership was hardly the weirdest thing to happen over the last three months though. After that night of crying into Galahad’s shoulder, sleeping in his arms, and sharing heartbreaking tales of dead friends…things had seemed to take a leap into an unexpected direction. He didn’t know what had possessed him to do it, but he had asked Galahad to celebrate New Years with him, and then gone and kissed him at midnight as the sys lit up in multicolored showers of light.   
  
Klein and Agil had, of course, just happened to stumble onto them right then. The two men had whistled and cat-called until Kirito had been ready to pull out his sword and chase them off. Galahad, of course, had seemed amused by the whole thing, and had distracted Kirito by grabbing him about the waist and pulling him in for another long, lingering kiss.   
  
He had thought he had heard a gasp and seen Asuna darting around a corner, but he was never sure. And honestly it mattered little to him. She was a skilled fighter, and nice, but they rarely had any interaction together unless it was a boss battle at the frontline, and that was getting rarer everyday. He seemed to be finding ways to wander away form the frontline, finding new places on previously cleared floors where he could enjoy the scenery, the company of his friends, and even more commonly now, come to the rescue of a ‘damsel in distress.’ The damsel occasionally being his…boyfriend, who seemed to have some kind of fan club that had cropped up. Kirito wasn’t sure if the fan club, which seemed to be almost 50-50 male and female, knew that Galahad was a guy. He had days when he doubted it, and others when he was sure they knew.  
  
Either way it seemed to make Galahad more uncomfortable than facing a new Floor Boss.   
  
Now…Now he had a boyfriend, an alliance with Klein’s guild, and a small guild of his own made up of Galahad, Agil, and a young girl he’d rescued named Silica. She wasn’t the best fighter, but she was kind, determined, and had a dragon with healing abilities. She also, he was starting to think, had a crush on him.   
  
Strangely enough, none of that bothered him as much as he thought it should. He was…happy.  
  
“Why don’t we wait to buy a house until after this next fight,” he told Galahad. “If the house is still here after that battle, then we’ll know it was meant to be ours.”  
  
Galahad sighed sadly, staring at the house on the other shore of the lake across from them. “Very well.”  
  
Kirito chuckled. “Maybe we can even take up fishing.”  
  
Galahad sighed dreamily. “I’ve never been fishing before.”  
  
“Then you’ve got something to look forward to other than Klein challenging you to another duel.”  
  
Galahad smiled. “He’s really very good. Not as good as me, of course, but still damn good. It’s a shame he doesn’t have a better sword.”  
  
“Don’t say that where he can hear you,” Kirito chuckled. “He’d never stop complaining!”  
  
“Please, I’d take his complaining over the Glares of Doom I’ve been getting from Asuna since New Years.” Galahad shook his head. “I don’t know what happened, but apparently I’ve offended her or something.”  
  
Kirito shrugged. “I might have a little sister, but I have no clue about girls.”  
  
Galahad sighed. “I wish I did. One of my best friends in outside was a girl, and she never behaved like-“ Galahad trailed off, his eyes widening. “Well, damn!”  
  
“What,” asked Kirito.  
  
Galahad looked at his boyfriend, wondering if he should come out and tell him that he suspect Asuna either had a crush on him and was jealous of Kirito, or, and the ore likely, that she had a crush on Kirito and was jealous of Galahad. No, he decided. It would be better to leave Kirito in the dark for now. He just wasn’t ready for the kind of fallout that came from a spurned teenage girl.  
  
  
= = = SAO = = = HP = = =   
  
  
**Two Days Later, Floor 56**  
  
“Lure it to the village. That’s how we get the boss,” commanded a stern feminine voice.   
  
Around the small cavern room other players shuffled nervously. Glancing at each other, the map on the table in front of them, and the fierce red-headed second in command of the Blood Knights. Galahad’s eyes narrowed, his lips thinning into a deep frown, and his fists clenching at his side. Next to him Kirito’s eyes widened in shock as the others muttered.  
  
“Wait,” Kirito called out, pushing to the front. “You can’t be serious! If we do the Boss will go after the villagers -“  
  
“That’s the goal,” she replied, cutting him off.  
  
Galahad’s frown grew even deeper as the young woman didn’t even bother to look up from the map. One hand was still on the table where she had slammed it down to get their attention, and the other had moved over her hip to rest on the hilt of her sword the moment Kirito had moved closer.   
  
“And while the Boss is busy killing NPCs we can attacked it and kill it,” her voice was stern and cold.  
  
Galahad was reminded fiercely of his ex-girlfriend during the final days of their relationship, when she seemed to be able to do nothing more than hate him. He wondered what had changed the polite young woman he had met two years ago in the Town of Beginnings. This Asuna was a far different person than he remembered, and not for the better. Sure she had grown strong, bold, skilled, and courageous. But it seemed as if being trapped in this game had stollen away her humanity as much as it had for the infamous Red Players. There was no compassion in her eyes anymore. He wasn’t sure if it was just from so many hours trapped here, fighting for her life, or if this behavior was being directed towards Kirito and himself because she seemed to have formed an emotional attachment to his boyfriend, despite the fact that they rarely fought together anymore.  
  
“But they’re not just objects like trees or rocks,” defended Kirito. “Look they’re-“  
  
“You think their alive? Really,” she asked with contempt as she finally looked up at him.   
  
Kirito took a step back, the shock at her open contempt of him blatant for everyone else in the room. Around them the others looked nervously between the two. Asuna the Lightning Flash and Kirito the Black Swordsman, were two of the most dangerous players in SAO. Two of the most dangerous players in the room as well, next to Galahad the Invincible Knight. Nobody else wanted to step in to interrupt them in the case Asuna took her bad mood out on them as well.  
  
“In this game they are just objects,” she defended herself. “And unlike us, if they’re killed they can always respawn.”  
  
Galahad closed his eyes in regret at her words, stepping up to Kirito’s side even as Kirito looked down at the map, a sorrowful look full of disappointment filling his dark eyes. “Sorry, but I’m not okay with that plan.”  
  
Asuna stood all the way up, her hand clenching around the hilt of her sword. “I’m in charge of this plan. Okay. In case you forgot I’m still second in command of the Knights of the Blood Oath. You’ll obey my orders. Like it or not.”  
  
Kirito straightened his shoulders and met her gaze with his own. It became obvious very fast that Kirito was going to point out that he, and many others here, we're not part of Asuna's guild, and as such did not have to follow her orders. He could in fact, point out that he was the leader of his own guild, The Hallow Knights, and that he out ranked her. Not that Kirito's intention to say that was bad. In fact Harry was of the impression that Asuna needed to be reminded that she was still a teenager, not a seasoned 5 star General. That went for the rest of her guild as well. They had all gotten aires recently, which had Galahad worried.  
  
Galahad reached out and rested his hand over Kirito’s clenched fist. Not here, the movement clearly stated. Asuna’s eyes flickered down at their hands and then back up at them, her already stern gaze growing colder. Galahad gave her the same stern glare he had used when facing down Voldemort that final time, making her flinched and look away, before he gently pulled Kirito back through the crowd to the back of the room and closer to the exit. If Asuna should chose to attack, or her fellow Knights chose to do so to defend their Vice Commander, then Harry wanted to be able get Kirito out as quickly, and with as little damage, as possible. Based on their numbers no one would die in the conflict, should it happen right now, but that still wasn't good enough. They would never beat all 100 floors of Aincrad if they kept falling to posturing and in-fighting.  
  
Agil caught his eye, nodding slightly that he was prepared to step in if needed, but Galahad waved him off just as carefully with a slight tilt of his head.  
  
Slowly the meeting calmed down and continued on. No one else willing to interrupt as Kirito had, causing the meeting to swiftly finish. The other players all shuffled out of the cavern as quickly as they could without looking nervous, confused, our curious. Though both Galahad and Kirito could feel the gazes of the others who had gathered for the meeting, on their backs. They moved off through the grass, away from the others.  
  
“Try not to let it get to you,” Galahad said in the most soothing voice he could muster, considering he felt much the same way.  
  
“How can I not.” Kirito scowled. “Galahad-“  
  
“Hey,” called out a deep voice behind them. “What is up with you guys?”  
  
Kirito and Harry stopped, turning to look behind them at the giant of a man approaching them.   
  
“What’s up with you and the second in the command, Kirito,” he asked with a shake of his bald head. “You’re always getting into it. And not in a good way.”  
  
Kirito looked at Galahad and sighed. “I guess we just don’t click anymore, Agil.”  
  
Kirito closed his eyes, his mind flashing back to the first battle Asuna, Galahad, Agil, and he had fought together. He had known in that moment that Asuna was going to be a player worth watching, and he had thought that the shy strength she had shown him meant that she would be a leader that players could look up to. But lately, sometime between New Years and since she had stumbled across Galahad and him taking on a mid-boss on their own, she had become cold and distant with him. It was like joining the Knights had sucked whatever humanity had been in her, out. He couldn’t understand how she could allow herself to use other people as bait, even if they were NPCs. If you started down that path…Kirito swallowed. It was a small step, but one that would make it easier to justify other “sacrifices.”   
  
“Well,” he sad in a bland voice. “She took my advice. But who knew she would join the top guild and be a floor clearing badass.” Kirito looked away and took Galahad’s hand, leading him away. “Later, Agil. Galahad and I have plans to look into a house.”  
  
Agil, smirked as the two walked off hand in hand. He supposed he could understand why Asuna might be acting a bit colder to Kirito. She was a pretty girl, probably not to used to guys ignoring her for someone else. “Don’t get into too much trouble you two,” he called out making Galahad throw his head back and laugh.  
  
Kirito scowled at Galahad, jabbing him in the ribs with a finger as they rounded the bend. “What the heck, Galahad!”  
  
Galahad laughed and rubbed at his sore ribs. Kirito scowled at him and opened his mouth to complain only for Harry to lunge in a plant a kiss on his lips. Kirito’s eyes fluttered shut and he leaned into the kiss, letting himself be swept away. He felt Galahad’s lips form a smile against his own.   
  
“Do you want to go back to town,” Galahad murmured against his lips.  
  
Kirito blushed and looked away “Alright.”  
  
Galahad kissed his neck, then kissed it again, and again. “Nothing you don’t want to do. Remember, Kiri-chan.”  
  
“Yeah,” Kirito said breathlessly.  
  
With that Galahad tugged Kirito through the portal that would lead them back to the to the 50th floor, where they had a small apartment.   
  
  
=== HP/SAO ===  
  
  
 **A Few Weeks Later, Floor 50**  
  
“Good lord,” Galahad slumped back against the bed frame. “That was a mess. I mean honestly!”  
  
“I guess so. I still can’t believe they followed Asuna’s plan. I suppose in the end her plan wasn’t any worse than the others trying to find their friends killer.” Kirito sighed and pulled up his menu, removing his shadow jacket. “I understand it though. Wanting to know why one friend betrayed the other.”  
  
Galahad tilted his head to the side, letting one arm slid out from behind his head, stretching it out towards Kirito. Kirito removed the last of his clothes, and blushing scarlet, he stepped forward to take Galahad’s hand. Galahad smiled and drew Kirito down onto the bed next to him with one hand while calling up the menu to remove his clothes with the other. Kirito tucked himself in against Galahad, resting his head on Galahad’s shoulder even as the other pulled the blanket up over them.   
  
“It’s a sad thing, Kiri-chan. But for a lot of the players this is still a game. They can’t bear to think that what we all learned that day was true. That if we die here, we die in the real world as well. It’s their own mind protecting them.” Galahad placed a kiss on the top of his head. “I thought you stopped worrying about that after you met Lisbeth and got your second sword.”  
  
“I guess,” he mumbled.  
  
Galahad smiled and looked out at the stars from their window. “How about tomorrow you and I go out monster hunting? We can test out your dual-wield skill and my new sword.”  
  
“Mortal Dread,” Kirito whispered. “That was some prize you got for beating that last Boss.”  
  
“We’ll see.” Galahad closed his eyes. He had a feeling it really was something different. He didn’t know for certain but he had started to notice things happening around him in the game. Fluctuations in the system. Rare items appearing that weren’t in any lists. Like his new sword, Mortal Dread. He didn’t like that it looked identical to the sword of Gryffindor. As far as he was aware the creator of SAO was not a Wizard, nor was he a Squib. A sword like this shouldn’t exist.   
  
Galahad glanced at where the sword was sitting on their table next to Kirito’s black sword. He swallowed thickly as the moonlight reflected off it’s polished surface. He had a bad feeling about it.  
  
Pushing away the worry, Galahad let himself drift to sleep in his lovers embrace.  
  
When he woke up the following morning Kirito was already up, drinking a cup of tea and munching on a bread roll with cream. His new black jacket was on and Harry took a moment to simply enjoy the way it hugged his body. He turned to look at Galahad, blushing like always at the sight of Galahad’s nude body. It pleased Galahad a bit, knowing that Kirito found him attractive. For the longest time Galahad had felt ugly. He had always been so skinny and short, his only saving grace he had thought was that he gained a bit muscle mass and toning after six years of Quidditch and running after Dark Lords. He had actually started to feel good about himself up until the day he found Ginny slipping a love potion into his morning tea. The following months of Ginny’s criminal court case for illegal use of love potions, brought back all the insecurities he had about himself as a child. Suddenly he had started to question if anyone loved him, or if everything he had known about his friends was a lie.   
  
It had taken George and Mrs. Weasley cornering him and lecturing him for days on end before he broke down in their arms, crying about the betrayal he felt. He had told them things he hadn’t told anybody before. He was grateful for the unconditional support and love they gave him in return. That didn’t mean everything had been fixed overnight, but it had certainly begun healing the rift that had formed during the revolution of Ginny’s betrayal. It had also allowed him to share his two biggest secrets.  
  
He was thankful that they loved him despite it all.  
  
Galahad leaned down and kiss his boyfriend lightly before stealing his cup of tea and downing it before Kirito could protest. Smirking he set the empty cup down on the table and opened his menu, selecting his best battle robes and armor. It was a bit flashy, especially next to Kirito’s somber black outfit. But Galahad liked it and knew that Kirito enjoyed what Harry looked like in it as well. In some ways it was a lot like Klein’s outfit more than it was like Kirito’s, but this was a game and he was used to the strange fashions of the Wizarding World. Plus he had grown up with Albus Dumbledore as his mentor. He was allowed a little eccentricities.  
  
Kirito had sighed at the loss of his tea and turned around to watch Galahad done his armor. The pants were loose and stark white fitted into black knee-high boots that had gold and black armor atop them similar to what you might find on an English medieval knight. The top was much more Japanese in style. It was a bright emerald green, with a white under-layer. It greatly resembled something you would see worn at a shinto shrine, with long, flowing sleeves, slitted shoulders, square neckline, and a long length down the front and back. When you got close, or Galahad moved just right, you could see the geometric shapes in the fabric that were in a slightly lighter shade of green. And the golden runes along the hem and neckline also caught your eye. Also like Klein, Galahad wore a Japanese style chest plate, in black and gold. Though Galahad’s was half the size of Klein’s, ending just beneath his upper chest, and did not have the matching shoulder plates.   
  
Galahad smirked at him as the final piece of his clothing, a black circlet style crown with golden clasps, settled into place on his head. The single green gem on it winking at Kirito from where it was nestled against Galahad’s ink black hair.  
  
“Ready to head out,” Galahad commented with a smirk and a twirl.  
  
Kirito coughed into his hand, blushing yet again, and picked up his sword. “Sure.”  
  
Galahad smiled at him, snagged his own sword, sheathing it on his right hip, and flounced out the door in front of Kirito.  
  
They made their way together, side by side, through the town. And like always, Galahad drew everyone’s attention. Kirito couldn’t blame them for looking at his boyfriend and drooling. Galahad might be a guy, but he was fairly androgynous and dressed up like he was, well he was like some kind of fantasy wet dream for most gamers. His black hair was was chin length, though it always looked wind blown, or as Agil said, like Galahad had just been throughly fucked. His green eyes were luminous and piercing, and when he met your gaze you felt trapped by them as if he could see into your very soul. That gaze had freaked Kirito out the first time he had met it, what felt like lifetimes ago, not long after he had failed his first and only SAO guild. It was that gaze that had kept Kirito from giving in to the guilt and grief. It was that gaze that pull him up from the gutters and gave him purpose again.  
  
He would follow Galahad to the very ends of this game even if that meant his death.   
  
Galahad looked over his should at Kirito, who had slowed so that he was two steps behind, and smiled. “Keep up, Kirito. We’ve got monster to fight!”  
  
Smiling a wide, real smile, Kirito speed up and took Galahad’s outstretched hand. Around them the world vanished in a flash of light.

**Author's Note:**

> ========
> 
> **AN:** to see what inspired Harry, aka Galahad’s, costume look up Mikazuki Munechika. That was what I imaged Harry’s outfit to look like, except with pants more like Klein’s.)


End file.
